Olivier Lorain
Hollow fiber membranes, with a high packing density and an easy assembly in bundles and modules, are one of the most cost competitive solutions for water membrane filtration, re-use of wastewater, or prefiltration to reverse osmosis. Over the years, the investment and maintenance costs of such membrane systems have dramatically decreased and are now cost competitive with the conventional media filters. This was possible thanks to both module design evolution and associated process improvements. However, since the size of standard modules are today relatively small (from 4 to 12 inches), huge number of modules and huge number of associated connections, pipes and modules supports are necessary for the construction of large plants.